


In The Blue

by Cyan (vehicroids)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M, Mentions of Drowning, merman hunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 15:12:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15391524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vehicroids/pseuds/Cyan
Summary: Lance was the son of nobility, but he longed for something more exciting in his life. When a family trip went wrong, Lance got his wish.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> GASPS LOUDLY so it's over! 6 or so months of work boiling down to this fic! I'd like to thank [StrawberryFox](http://strawberryfoxart.tumblr.com) and [Jay](http://heckitty.tumblr.com) for their art. I'll add links to the art when I get them! This was written for the [Hance Big Bang](http://hanceomebigbang.tumblr.com) \- check out the rest of the works!
> 
> And, as ever, check me out on [Tumblr!](http://vehicroids.tumblr.com)

Lance yawned, leaning on the side of the ship as he watched the waves roll on. His family travelled on business that, as the youngest, he didn’t need to attend to. Ah, the joys of being part of the upper class, Lance supposed. He came along anyway - his excuse being, it was good to know what was going on in the world. The real reason was that a part of him, no matter how silly, wanted to see something more exciting.

No, he didn’t mean he wanted to see the culture of another country. He didn’t want to meet more people either, though that did help. What Lance wanted was to see _something_ \- specifically, he wanted to see a monster of some kind. He wouldn’t admit that he hadn’t grown out of fairytales, but honestly, stupid fairytales were all a man had. Maybe it was stupid, hoping to see a mermaid while out at sea, but Lance was nothing if not hopelessly optimistic.

The sun faded, hiding behind dark and angry clouds. The temperature dropped, and Lance hugged himself. Perhaps he should have moved back inside, but he wanted to keep watching the sea. He did like the water, even if being on a boat made his stomach drop. Thankfully, they weren’t far from shore. And as the weather became worse, Lance became increasingly glad about this.

The waves crashed against the side of the ship, rocking it a little more than Lance wanted. He held his stomach, looking overboard. Come on, if he was going to be sick, he should be sick already. That was when the rain started to pour, and Lance realised standing out here wasn’t the best idea. The ship rocked harder, sea spray hitting him in the face. Alright, alright, time to carefully move back inside.

The floor was slippery, and it wasn’t as if Lance had the best shoes in terms of grip. He kept his hand on the railings as much as he could as he moved, praying to God that his luck wouldn’t run out _now_. He took a shaky breath, finally peeling himself away, but God was not on his side.

One false step was all it took for Lance to lose it. His foot squeaked against the floorboard, losing grip, and he slammed back against the railings. It was just short enough for him to be knocked over. Lance tried to grip the railing, the side of the ship, something, but luck really was not with him. He heard his name being called, then he hit the water, back first.

He tried to breathe in too late, and filled his lungs with salt water. He choked, trying to swim back up. His body wasn’t strong enough to fight against the water, the world around him turning dark too quickly. He fought hard, but just not hard enough. Something wrapped around Lance, and though he wanted to fight back, he couldn’t. He went limp and then, nothing.

\--

Lance coughed on air, his lungs burning. He struggled, fighting against-- nothing. He was alive, somehow, that was the important thing. His clothes were still soaked through, chilling him to the bone, but at least the rain had stopped. He opened his eyes slowly, groaning as he sat up. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his eye, taking a look around. He didn’t quite know where he was, but surely he could find his was home from here.

It seemed like Lance had ended up in a secluded little area, hidden away mostly by trees. No one would be able to easily see him from here. He looked out to sea first, checking to see if he could see the ship. He couldn’t. How long was Lance out for, exactly? He gasped softly; his family probably thought he had died. Fuck. He needed to get home, despite his legs protesting against movement. He needed to get back to them, to assure them--

Lance uncovered his eye, and spotted something - no, some **one** \- in the water, watching him. Half of the person was immersed in water, biting his lips together. He seemed to be waiting for Lance to react, brow furrowed. Lance tilted his head, trying to get closer to the water. The moment he got too close, the guy in the water backed away.

“Hey, c’mon, I’m not gonna hurt you, man.” Lance said. “Are you hurt or something? Come on out of the water.”

He reached out, trying to get closer, but the guy in the water just backed away further. That was when Lance noticed the nervous flutter of fins, extending from his ears. The gills at the base of his neck also caught Lance’s eye. Lance moved back, almost toppling from shock.

“What the--?”

Lance's brain could not comprehend what he was looking at, not at first. He saw a tail flicker anxiously in the water, and Lance made strange strangled noise. This was definitely a merman, it just had to be. The merman was looking at him like he was about to die from an anxiety attack which, to Lance, was odd.

He knew all about merfolk, their stories and their legends. They were dangerous, and would not hesitate to kill a human on sight. Some lured ships full of humans to their death, while some preferred to do the deed themselves. Lance could admit to himself that the danger was part of the attraction, but now was not the time to be inappropriate about merfolk.

They both stared at each other in silence. According to the legends, the merman should have killed him. Yet here Lance was, still alive. There were plenty of chances to kill Lance - while he was drowning, while he laid on the beach, anything. Unless the merman saved him, but Lance couldn’t figure out why. He had nothing that a merman would want.

“You… did you save me?” Lance asked.

“ _You need to go, get out of here. And so do I, really. My family and friends are gonna be worried that I left, and yeah, I know, I shouldn’t have left, especially not to save some human, but--_ ” The merman looked over at Lance, catching his expression. “ _And you can’t understand me._ ”

Lance’s jaw dropped. First of all, _what_ ? He was lucky to know more than one language, but nothing that sounded like that. Second of all, how could something so human-looking make sounds like that? It was ethereal, almost melodic. Lance hadn’t heard _anything_ like it before. He slowly held his hands out, eyebrows raised, and the merman looked at him in confusion.

“Hey, hey, calm down. Caaaalm, okay? Let’s not yell. It’s gonna be okay, yeah?” Lance tried, speaking slowly in the hopes the merman would somehow understand.

That didn’t work, and the merman stared at him blankly, instead. And now, they were at an impasse, with no way of communicating with each other. Lance probably should have just left, but hell, how often did one encounter a merman and live? Lance pulled his knees to his chest, watching the merman in silence. There had to be some way to communicate. That was when Lance got an idea. He caught the merman’s attention, then gestured to himself.

“Lance.” He pointed his hand in his chest. “I am Lance.” Then, he gestured to the merman. “You?”

“ _Lance,_ ” the merman echoed. It came out as a strange squeak, but it was still clearly Lance’s name.

He seemed to understand what Lance was trying to do, which was progress. The merman gestured to himself and attempted to introduce himself, but the sounds that came out of his mouth made Lance’s jaw drop. “I uh… I don’t… okay. I’m just gonna call you Hunk.” What? The guy _was_ a hunk, and what he said was somewhat similar to the word.

Hunk looked like he wanted to argue against the nickname, but he realised Lance wouldn’t have been able to understand him. Instead, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. It wasn’t like Lance didn’t _want_ to try, it’s that he wasn’t sure how he was going to pronounce it. If Lance saw Hunk more often, he was sure he would get the hang of it eventually. It was likely they would never see each other again, though; Lance would soon return home when he felt less awful.

Lance couldn’t stop staring at Hunk, and Hunk couldn’t stop looking at Lance. Lance was finally brave enough to scoot a little closer to him, and this time, he didn’t try to move away. Hunk smiled and held out his hand to him, but just before their fingers could make contact, Lance heard a voice. Hunk’s eyes widened, looking out to sea, and Lance nodded. He slipped back into the water, and Lance watched him vanish into the sea.

He was alone on the sand, and it was only now that he was aware of just how _cold_ it was. He dragged dragged himself up from the sand, though his legs fought against him. He brushed away damp sand from his clothes, shaking more sand from his clothes. He turned around just in time to see his brother, Luis, and watch his jaw drop. He sighed in relief, pulling Lance in for a tight hug, and he yelped in surprise.

“You dick,” Luis hissed, “we’ve been looking everywhere for you. I can’t believe-- Shit, you’re damp, and covered in sand.”

Luis moved back immediately, pulling a face as he dusted sand from himself. Lance laughed at Luis, grinning while his brother frowned at him. Luis rolled his eyes, before leading the way back home. Lance took one last glance at the sea, hoping he would see Hunk just one more time. Sure, he was happy he was going home, but…

\--

A couple of days had passed since Lance had almost died. People were trying to rally around him, and while Lance appreciated the care, he felt a little distracted. In truth, all he was able to think about was the merman he had seen. In the back of his mind, he did think that what he had seen was just his imagination, but that didn’t matter. If imagining a merman was how Lance was going to cope with what happened, then so be it.

He looked into merfolk a little more since the incident, and as he thought, nothing Lance had read matched with Hunk. Either every tale about merfolk was inaccurate - and, really, that didn’t seem possible - or Hunk was an exception. There was always the third option; Hunk simply wasn’t real. Lance couldn’t decide where he stood on all of this.

He went to the beach every day since, hoping to see Hunk again. Lance just wanted to know that what he had seen was real, some sort of confirmation. He sat in the sand, watching the waves roll. If nothing else, this was just relaxing. He saw a swimmer, close enough to call to, come to think of it. Lance squinted, and realised he saw the flicker of a golden tail.

“Hunk!” Lance gasped, waving wildly at him. “It’s me! Lance! Come here, buddy!”

Hunk turned around to look at Lance, before disappearing back into the water. Lance waited around, hoping he would spot Hunk, but he never did. Maybe he should have taken that as a sign that what he had seen wasn’t real, but he just wanted to hope. It helped to believe.

Lance had grown up with fairytales and myths, and merfolk were certainly no exception. In a seaside city, merfolk were a common talking point among sailors. If one were to sit with them, they would be regaled with tales of ships taken down, crew members brutally murdered before weary sailors’ eyes. Sailors detailed creatures with sharp teeth, and claws that could tear any human apart without a single thought.

Lance’s stomach turned when he listened to the stories, but he still loved hearing about them. His mother used to put him to bed to milder stories about merfolk, and while the stories scared him a little, he wanted to know more about them. Even as an adult, he still had not grown out of his merfolk phase.

His family home had books on fairytale creatures, including merfolk. Thanks to Lance’s interest in them, they had a sizeable collection. But even in those books, there was nothing about soft merfolk, those who saved drowned humans.

According to everything he knew, Lance should have been dead.

Hunk should have drowned him, slit his throat, _something_ . Instead, it appeared Hunk may have saved him. Lance shook his head - he couldn’t believe he was acting as if the merman he had seen was real. But surely, if Lance had imagined it, Hunk would have looked less _human_ , and more like the mermen he had read and heard about.

Lance felt like he was losing it, trying to piece together his imagination. He couldn’t accept he had just imagined it all, and he was just irritating himself further and further. Lance needed to get out of his own head about this, and there was only one person he felt comfortable talking this out with.

Keith wasn’t the best person to talk about mythical creatures with, though. He didn’t believe in any of it, and when Lance told him about it, he raised a skeptical eyebrow. Lance kept going, hoping he would say something that would change Keith’s mind.

“Mermaids aren’t real.”

Lance sighed, knowing it would end this way, but that didn’t make it suck any less. He rolled his eyes at Keith. Although, Lance couldn’t blame him for not believing him, as even he had his doubts about it. He wanted to get out of his own head about it, and thought that if he could explain it to Keith, he could decide either way. If Lance were a calmer, more rational man, he would have spent time trying to discuss this with Keith in an adult manner.

Of course, this was still Lance - he did not do calm or rational.

“They so are!” Lance whined, like a child would. “If they're not real, why did I see one, huh? He was cute, with a pretty golden tail, and just so--” He sighed wistfully, thinking about the merman. “And his name was Hunk.”

“Hunk.” Keith repeated the name, raising an eyebrow. “Now I _know_ you made it up.”

“Uh, no, he's real. … okay, the name I made up, because his name is something weird. Like--” Lance hummed, trying to remember the sounds. It wasn’t _that_ strange, in retrospect, but strange enough to him. “Like, uh, H-- Hawea, or something.”

Keith frowned at him. Alright, that was the frown on complete disbelief, and Lance knew this was how it would end. He groaned, rubbing his temple. Surely, this would have been enough to make Lance realise Hunk was just some kind of dream, but Lance loved to contradict Keith too much.

“I just… I just can’t believe it,” Keith admitted, shaking his head. “You went through something no one can imagine, and your brain is trying to think of a way to cope with it. You love mermen, so…”

Lance huffed, folding his arms over his chest. “I know what I saw, and what I saw was a merman,” Lance insisted, a touch defensive. “Come to the beach with me, and you'll see him, too.”

Keith hummed, thinking about it, and Lance could take that as a little win. He was hurt by his friend’s disbelief, but he didn’t know what he was expecting from him. Keith let out a resigned sigh.

“Fine, prove it. I'll go with you now,” Keith nodded.

“Fine. You'll see I'm not making this up.”

Lance led the way to the beach in silence, to the same spot where he and Hunk met in the first place. He sat down, knees pulled close to his chest, while Keith sat cross-legged next to him. They both watched the sea, waiting for something to appear. Keith wasn’t holding his breath, but Lance certainly was.

In the distance, Lance saw ships of all kind. When he realised a couple were fishing boats, his heart jumped to his throat. Sure, he knew merfolk were capable of taking down fishing boats, but he wondered what would happen if a fishing crew managed to catch a live mer. What would they do with one? Lance had to push away those thoughts, before he thought about what could happen to Hunk.

It grew colder and colder as the sunlight waned, and still no sign of Hunk. Lance wanted to prove Keith wrong so badly, but all he did was prove Keith right. He kept telling himself, five more minutes and Hunk would show. But he never did. Keith ran out of patience eventually and sood up.

“I was right,” Keith said, with a click of his tongue, dusting sand from himself.

“I’m not wrong about this” Lance shouted defensively. But, looking at the sea from the corner of his eye, he realised Keith may have had a point. He sighed, hanging his head. “But, fine, don’t believe me, see if I care.”

Lance did care, he cared too much, but like _hell_ was he going to tell Keith that. Keith’s expression softened, opening his mouth to say something, but he didn’t. He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Lance by himself. He could have gone home with Keith, but after that, he was in no mood for conversation. He wanted to be alone for a little while.

He leaned his chin on the top of his knees, groaning. Well, one thing was for sure - Lance was now certain he made Hunk up. Seeing Hunk was his brain playing tricks on him; what he had seen was probably driftwood. Lance was just lucky to have drifted back to shore, somehow, but he didn’t know how.

He watched the sea lazily roll on. Soon, he would get up and go home, and he would need to promise himself he wouldn’t come back here. Lance saw something bob over the water, and he tilted his head curiously, before it disappeared again. Whatever, it was just his imagination getting the best of him again.

Lance lost himself in his own head. He heard a noise, something that almost sounded like his name and he yelled, startled. He looked for the source, and in the sea, he saw Hunk. Ah, alright, made sense. Wait, no, that didn’t make sense!

“Holy--” Lance gasped, hand over his heart. “What is this?” Hunk came closer to him. “You’re not real. Are you?” Lance groaned, burying his face in his hands. “This is so stupid. I'm dreaming up a merman. Great. Good job to Lance, right?”

He sighed, before peeking through his fingers, and saw Hunk was still there. Oh, for goodness’ sake, just when Lance was _certain_ he made it up. Lance realised that Hunk was now close enough to touch, if he so chose, and if Hunk allowed him to. Well, that would have been one way to prove, once and for all, this was all a lie.

He hesitated, before shifting to his knees. Hunk kept watch, a little nervous, but didn’t move. Lance had no intention of hurting him, but he didn’t blame the merman for being afraid of the human. It should have been the other way around, but, whatever. He held out a hand, moving closer to Hunk, and waiting for him to push Lance away. Instead, Hunk held out his face, as if silently asking Lance to touch him.

Lance reached out, his fingers making contact with Hunk’s cheek. He brushed his fingertips on the soft skin, making Hunk’s fins on the tips of his ears twitch. Lance breathed in wonder, wanting to see Hunk like this all the time.

“You’re real,” Lance whispered, the relief so clear in his voice. He half-laughed, cupping Hunk’s face. “You’re really real.” He rubbed his thumb on Hunk’s cheekbone, smiling at him.

Hunk's skin felt almost human, Lance remarked. It was soft, and smooth, but there was something rubbery about it he couldn't quite describe. He moved his hands to Hunk's hair, running his fingers through the wet mass. Lance couldn't help but grin like a child at him, excited and happy all at once. He couldn’t take it. This meant he was right, he wasn’t losing it, and his brain wasn’t playing tricks on him. Most importantly, Keith was wrong, and Lance would rub this in his face.

Was it weird to look at Hunk’s body? Yes, but that didn’t stop Lance. His eyes moved down Hunk’s body, wondering how much he could get away with touching. Technically, Lance _was_ touching a naked person. His eyes widened - not an appropriate thought right now. He looked at Hunk’s tail, bobbing in the shallow water. Lance wished he could ask if he could touch, but he didn’t need to. Hunk shifted himself, allowing Lance easy access to his tail.

Lance looked at it; even in the waning sunlight, it still shimmered so brightly. He wondered what other tail colours existed, and if colours meant anything to merfolk. He thought they were all green, but he was clearly wrong about a lot of things that involved merfolk.

Lance placed his hand on Hunk’s tail, and pulled a face as he ran his hand down the tail. He didn’t know what he expected but, for some reason, he did not expect the tail to feel like he was touching an actual fish. It was gross, and slimy, and Hunk shuddered, moving his tail away. Lance frowned at him in concern.

“ _Sorry, sorry,_ ” Hunk mumbled, moving his tail back to where it was. “ _I’m not used to having my tail touched._ ”

“Hey, c’mon, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Lance said. He held his hand out again, looking into Hunk’s eyes. “Can I…?” he asked, gaze flicking back down to the tail.

Hunk nodded, and Lance put his hand back on the tail. He didn’t know why he wanted to touch them, especially because they felt gross on his hand, but he did. Hunk’s ears twitched nervously, keeping an eye on Lance, and Lance smiled kindly at him. Hunk smiled back, and his face turned pink. Lance didn’t know merfolk could blush, but now that he did, he wanted to make Hunk blush more. He was cute when red.

Wait, no, he did _not_ just think that.

Lance tried to silence his thoughts as he kept his hand on Hunk’s tail. He knew he was blushing, his face a bright red, so instead he looked down. Could merfolk read minds? Lance hoped they couldn’t otherwise this would have made things far more awkward. Hunk slipped back into the water, and Lance convinced himself for a moment that it was because Hunk somehow knew what Lance was thinking. But he soon realised Hunk probably just needed to breathe, or needed to keep himself wet.

“You okay, man? I didn’t hurt you or anything, right?” Lance asked, checking the sand for fallen scales, or any sign that he’d hurt Hunk.

“ _I…_ ” Hunk chewed on his cheeks, fiddling with his hands. “ _I should go back, before my family worries about me. You have a family too, right? You should be going, too._ ”

Lance wiped his hand on his pants. “So, no, you’re not okay. I’m sorry.”

Hunk paused, looking at Lance, frustrated. He gestured to himself, then off to the sea. He pointed to Lance, then gestured off to where he came from on land. Lance looked behind him, unsure of what he was supposed to be looking at. He looked back, about to ask Hunk what that was about, but Hunk was already gone. Oh. It hit Lance in that moment what Hunk was trying to tell him.

Lance smiled to himself. He had touched Hunk, spoken to Hunk. Maybe Lance really was losing it, but something told him he wasn’t. Oh yes, he was definitely going to brag about this when he got the chance.


	2. Chapter 2

The best part about coming from an upper-class family was the educational advantages it offered. This meant Lance was well-educated, of course, but it also meant his family had amassed a sizeable library. Luckily for him, his mother loved fiction as much as she loved facts. The shelves were stocked full of books on many mythical creatures, and Lance was left to wonder how many of them were real.

There were a few books on those shelves where the pages had been frayed, the spine long split. Those contained everything one would need to know about merfolk. Or, so Lance thought, until he met Hunk. Now they all seemed hilariously inaccurate to him. But he wondered if, among all those books, there would be something that helped him. There wasn’t, at least not in the mythical creatures section.

The languages section caught his eye. The mer language was nothing like any human language Lance had ever heard before, and definitely nothing like he had ever studied, but he did like a challenge. It was unfortunate that there was nothing on their language anywhere, but surely Lance could still somehow learn. If some guy could learn about the mating rituals of merfolk - which was something no one should know - then Lance could learn their language.

He knew how phonetics worked, at least, to an extent. Lance needed to surround himself in the language, and what better way than to talk to Hunk some more? He fished out some writing supplies from a drawer, and stuffed them into a bag. Sure, a lot of this would be guesswork, but this was how plenty of people learned languages. Lance would be no exception.

He rushed off to the beach, bag strapped to his shoulder. He grinned the entire time, making no time for anyone else. He got to the beach, in his secluded little spot. Lance pulled out his supplies and made himself comfortable, and waited. He wasn’t sure if Hunk would even turn up, but Lance could only hope.

He didn’t have to wait too long before he saw the familiar figure in the water. Hunk bobbed his head above the water, smiling when he saw Lance, and swam over to him. He positioned himself in the shallow water as he did before, looking up at Lance.

“Hey,” Lance greeted.

With Hunk looking up at him like that, he realised he had no real plan. It was just going to be wild guessing. He watched Lance curiously, holding his head up with his hands.

“I'm gonna figure out how to talk to you. See?” Lance showed him the paper. “I'll try to write stuff down phonetically--” was that how it was pronounced? Whatever. “-- and I'll figure it out from there. Eventually.”

Hunk tilted his head. “ _ Uh. What? _ ”

Lance wrote that down - he could assume that meant  _ what _ \- and smiled to himself. Okay, this was totally going to work. He looked back at Hunk, a grin on his face.

“ _ What? _ ” Lance echoed, to the best of his ability. “Huh. I guess you still don’t get it.”

Hunk only looked more confused, and Lance chuckled softly. Maybe in time, Hunk would understand. If not, then Lance would be able to communicate what he was trying to do. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

“You're gonna have to work with me. You're gonna have to, uh…” Lance tapped against the paper. “Talk,” he tried to mime talking, “slower,” he held his hands out, making a gentle motion which, to him, looked like should mean  _ slower _ .

“ _ What? _ ” Hunk laughed. “ _ What are you talking about?” _

Lance tried again. “Slower, okay? Gimme a chance.”

Hunk hummed, copying Lance's motions. “ _ Slower _ ,” he said slowly, “ _ Like this? _ ”

Lance grinned and nodded as he noted down the word. He looked down at the sheet, humming in thought. He could probably come up with an alphabet for this later or something, but that would be later’s problem. At least now, it seemed like Hunk was starting to understand what Lance wanted. This made things a  _ lot _ easier for Lance.

Lance encouraged Hunk to talk more, and Hunk tried his best to mime what he was talking about.  _ Slowly _ , Lance had to remind him, and  _ sorry _ was a word he learned very quickly. At least, he hoped it was sorry, and not  _ fuck you _ . He filled up some pages with words he thought were about right for what Hunk was saying, and hoped they made some kind of sense.

Lance put down his pen, rubbing his temples. His head was pounding, and he could do with a rest. Lance had never focused this hard on anything in his life. He sighed softly.

“I should go,” Lance said. When Hunk was confused, Lance had to improvise. “Go,” he tried again, pointing behind him.

“ _ Oh. Yeah, if you have to go, don't let me keep you _ ,” Hunk said. “ _ Tomorrow _ ?”

Lance tilted his head. “ _ Tomorrow? _ ” He flicked through the pages, trying to find something close to that word. “Uh… sure, yeah, whatever.” Lance would just need to come back tomorrow to learn more.

He gathered his things, putting them back into his bag neatly. He could look over the notes again later, when he didn’t feel like he was going to puke. Maybe after dinner, too. Lance got up, and Hunk smiled up at him, before disappearing back into the water. He swore he would understand that beautiful man at any cost.

\--

When Lance got home, he organised his papers, and began the tedious task of rewriting his notes. He looked at some of what he had written and raised his eyebrows. How was he supposed to read his own handwriting, exactly? He groaned, headache setting in again. Maybe if he published this, whenever it was finished, he could be richer than ever. But, then again, he wasn’t doing this for the money, anyway.

He tapped his fingers on the table as he worked, trying to focus, but he couldn’t. All Lance wanted was to understand Hunk better, to know him. And that was when it hit him, slapping him in the face like a wet fish. Lance slammed his face on the table. He should have known this would happen, but apparently, Lance really was that stupid. It was fine, the crush would die soon.

Hopefully.

Lance came back to the beach daily to talk to Hunk, and every day brought new words for him to attempt to pronounce. The more he learned, the more complex Hunk went with his vocabulary. Lance hated it - he couldn’t even pronounce words in English, let alone a language that wasn’t even human. He needed his notes less and less, because now he knew enough to allow Hunk to correct him. Maybe one day, Hunk would stop correcting him.

Anything Lance couldn’t express in words, he tried to mime. Hunk would be amused, and Lance loved watching his face light up. It was definitely worth being embarrassed. Lance’s crush on Hunk was only getting worse, but instead of doing something about it, he shoved it deep inside himself. Just like he would love to shove--

“ _ Lance, _ ” Hunk started, interrupting Lance’s thoughts. “ _ Maybe you could, I don’t know, come swimming with me? I know you’re probably scared of water, after everything, but it’d be fun, right? _ ”

Hunk fiddled with his fingers as he talked, and Lance frowned. He hated when Hunk rambled, especially as he talked far too fast. Lance stood no chance of understanding what was going on. He stared at Hunk blindly, tilting his head, and Hunk sighed in frustration. He didn’t seem to like condensing his thoughts in a coherent sentence, but he had no choice.

“ _ Come for a swim with me? _ ” Hunk tried again.

“ _ What? _ ” Lance asked, baffled. “ _ Swimming? Now? Are you serious? _ ”

In truth, Lance was a little nervous about water still, after almost drowning. But with Hunk, he was safe. There was no way Lance could drown. But as he looked out to the sea, and thought about being in that water again… his stomach gurgled. Hunk held out his hands to him encouragingly. Lance knew Hunk would have understood if Lance said no, but he didn’t want to say no.

He got up and put his things in a safe place, before slowly getting undressed. For a moment, Lance felt like he was performing a striptease, but then again, Hunk was always naked. He probably didn’t even understand what clothes were for, come to think of it. He left his clothes in a safe place, leaving himself in just his underwear. He wasn’t ready to be fully naked, not yet.

Lance paused at the shore, about to dip his foot in. Wait, this was exactly how merfolk lured people to their deaths. Wait, Lance just realised - he actually didn’t care. He took a step into the freezing cold water and yelped, before putting another foot in. He wiggled his toes in the cold water, trying to get used to the temperature.

A wave came in, water rushing up his legs, and Lance whimpered. He waded deeper into the water, until finally, he was waist deep in the water. Lance held himself, shivering, his lungs shrivelled. Hunk swam over to him, touching his arm in concern.

“ _ Lance? You okay, buddy? _ ” Hunk asked.

“ _ Cold _ ,” Lance whispered.

Hunk frowned. “ _ Do you wanna get out? _ ”

Lance shook his head, trying to wade a little deeper in the water. “ _ No. _ ” He just needed a moment to get used to it.

He wasn’t used to freezing water; Lance was used to warm sunlight and dry conditions. He exhaled slowly, sinking into the water, and accustomed himself to the water’s temperature. He nodded at Hunk, before swimming out further. Truth be told, he was terrified the waves would take him, or that Hunk would have a change of heart and killed Lance, himself. For all he knew, merfolk appeared kind, up until they turned murderous. He stopped, looking over at Hunk, and he looked no different to usual. Why was his brain like that?

There was something peaceful about swimming in the water. The only sound was the soft crash of waves, and the water rushing past his ears. The sea almost felt like home, he realised, but it was just a shame he couldn’t breathe underwater. This was almost like a date, Lance thought, before hiding his face in the water. No, he couldn’t date a merman. Could he? No, not unless Hunk knew this was kind of a date. What the hell was Lance thinking, exactly?

“ _ How're you holding up? _ ” Hunk asked.

“ _ Not dead yet, _ ” Lance laughed, earning himself a nudge.

“ _ Don't joke about that, man. _ ” Hunk frowned. “ _ If you start to get tired, tell me. We'll head back. _ ”

Lance wasn’t tired just yet, happy to float on his back with the sun warming his front. He liked slinking into the water as well, head first, even if he couldn’t stay under that long. He enjoyed watching Hunk swim around him, and Lance felt envious; he wished he could swim that elegantly. Lance could swim, but not as well as a sea creature.

He caught Hunk watching him swim, in particular watching his legs go. Well, it wasn’t like Lance could use a fish tail, so he made do with what he had. He rose back up to the top, shifting himself to float on top of the water again. He kicked his feet a little to keep himself afloat, letting the waves carry him for the most part. Lance relaxed, basking in the sun.

He hadn’t realised he had fallen asleep until something scooped him up, stopping him from drowning. Lance opened his eyes, groaning. He was greeted by the sight of Hunk frowning down at him. Lance huffed.

“ _ I was sleeping, _ ” Lance argued.

“ _ I told you to tell me when you’re tired. _ ”

“ _ Why? _ ” Lance cooed, looping an arm around Hunk’s shoulders with a smile. “ _ I like this _ .”

Hunk’s eyes widened, his grip on Lance tightened. He turned pink, looking away, biting his lip. Lance wondered what he was thinking of, if that matched with what Lance wanted. There were only two ways to find out, but he didn’t want to risk anything by trying something. If Lance were a smarter man, he would have fumbled with a thinly-veiled excuse and wiggle free.

This wasn’t their first stalemate like this, but it was the first time a stalemate made Lance’s stomach churn. He thought he was going to be sick, but he swallowed it down. His eyes flickered between Hunk’s eyes and his lips, and damn, they looked so soft. He knew that, if they were on land, Hunk would have felt how clammy Lance was. He wanted to close the gap between them, to know how it felt to kiss Hunk.

Lance couldn’t breathe properly, nerves getting the better of him. It was one thing flirting with people, a whole other to want to go in and seal the deal. He reached over, holding Hunk’s face in his own, and his brain went blank for a moment. Come on, Lance, pull it together. He sucked in his breath, shaky and uneven.

What if merfolk didn’t kiss, anyway? What if it meant something completely different in merfolk culture? These were ideas that floated in Lance’s head too late, when his lips were already on Hunk’s. His face was burning, and he knew that as soon as he pulled away, Hunk would see how embarrassed he was. Lance kept his eyes squeezed shut, too scared to catch his reaction when he finally pulled away.

“ _ Lance…? _ ” Hunk asked quietly.

It was so hard to read Hunk’s tone. Lance didn’t know if he was shocked, disgusted, confused, or some sort of other emotional concoction. He released Hunk’s face, but he couldn’t find the strength to try and wiggle free from his grip just yet.

“Oh God, I’m--” Lance took in a deep breath, trying to remember the words. “ _ I’m sorry. _ ”

He should have swam away, but he was too terrified. Hunk didn’t let him go, nor did he do anything to Lance. He finally opened his eyes to look at the merman, and his jaw dropped. Hunk’s face was red, redder than Lance had ever seen before. Was that good? He didn’t know anymore, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. He tried to wiggle free, but Hunk stopped him.

“ _ Wait, man. I want… do it again, _ ” he mumbled.

Lance hesitated, but only for a brief moment, before leaning in for another kiss. He held a hand to the back of Hunk’s head, keeping him in place while they kissed. His heart thumped so heavily in his chest that Lance thought it was going to burst out of his ribcage. Hunk’s lips were so soft, they felt like heaven, and Lance never wanted to stop. When he pulled away this time, it was to pepper more kisses on Hunk’s face. Lance no longer knew what self control meant.

Hunk laughed softly. “ _ You okay, man? _ ”

“ _ Do you want to stop? _ ” Lance asked, with a small frown.

“ _ No! Definitely not, keep going, _ ” Hunk said, holding his face out to him.

Lance grinned, picking up where they had left off. It was silly to get so attached to someone who couldn’t always understand him, but it felt so right. Being held in his arms while he kissed his face just felt like this was how it was supposed to be. It was cheesy to say, but hey, cheese was part of a healthy diet.

He eventually settled down, leaning his head against Hunk’s chest. He could hear the heavy thump of his heart, and Lance marvelled at just how similar their two species were. Lance relaxed against him, and he could fall asleep in Hunk’s arms. Hunk reached over for Lance’s hand, which he held out to him. His hand looked so tiny in Hunk’s.

“ _ It’s too soon, I know, like, way too soon, but… I have to be honest with you, Lance, but I don’t know how you’re gonna take it. I hope I don’t scare you off, but you need to know, before I get too scared  _ **_again_ ** _ and still won’t say it, _ ” Hunk mumbled.

“ _ Okay, okay. Slower and clearer, _ ” Lance reminded him.

Hunk bit his cheek, searching for the words in Lance’s eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but when the words didn’t seem to want to form, Hunk groaned, sinking a little into the water and taking Lance down with him. Lance yelped and, when Hunk realised why, he pulled them both back up.

Hunk put him down, and Lance wanted to protest, but Hunk grabbed his hand once again. He looked Lance in the eye as he pressed his hand against his chest. He seemed so nervous, and Lance touched his face with his free hand, watching him turn red all over again. He would never get sick of this.

“ _ I love you, _ ” Hunk said so quietly, Lance wasn’t even sure he had spoken.

Lance didn’t understand the words he had said, but he could understand the emotion. He looked up at Hunk, brushing some of the wet hair from his face, and smiling warmly at him. He pressed his forehead against Hunk’s, both pairs of eyes fluttering shut and enjoying the embrace.

“ _ I love you _ ,” Lance echoed, praying that he didn’t completely screw up the pronunciation.

Hunk put a hand on the small of his back, pulling him closer. Lance melted in the embrace, grinning to himself. He had never felt so at home in his life.


	3. Chapter 3

Lance had learned a few things over the past few months of knowing Hunk. Not all tales about merfolk were accurate, some myths weren’t myths, and Lance had fallen in love with something that shouldn’t have been real. He knew he was hopeless when it came to romance, but this was something else entirely for Lance. Hell, he was dumb enough to learn a whole new language to communicate with him.

Lance had no idea what he and Hunk were, and in truth, he wasn’t sure it mattered that much. To be honest, they shouldn’t have been _anything_ , but Lance was far beyond the point of caring. It wasn’t like they were going to get caught; they were each others’ secret.

Secrets had a way of getting out, usually because Lance couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. He had only told Keith, who didn’t believe him. The worst case scenario, he told Allura and they giggled at his expense. It hurt, but at least then the secret wouldn’t have been out. He had no intention of talking to Keith about it again, not after last time.

Much like last time, however, Lance needed to get out of his own head. What better way to do so than to invite Keith over to tea? Lance never invited Keith over unless he wanted something, usually instead imposing himself at Keith’s house. Keith was wary, but he came over regardless. It was free food, no one could say no to that. The house was empty, thankfully, giving the pair privacy.

Lance hated tea, but he still sipped from his cup, while Keith eyed him up suspiciously. He said nothing for now, trying to find the right words. He averted his gaze, admiring the decorations of his home that he had seen a thousand times before. Keith finally had enough, putting his cup down and folding his arms on his stomach.

“Alright, enough is enough,” Keith said, “why did you invite me over?

“Aren’t you impatient?” Lance snorted, and Keith narrowed his eyes. “Alright, alright, you’ve got a point.” He shuffled in his seat. “I’m not totally sure why I’m telling you, anyway, you’re not even gonna believe me.”

“This is about the merman again, isn’t it?” Keith asked.

Lance nodded, fiddling with his hands. He could feel Keith’s disapproval, even without him saying anything. He gestured for Lance to continue, and he thought about saying nothing, but he did invite him over to talk. Lance told him everything, how he had been sneaking off to spend time with Hunk, and how much he had learned about _real_ merfolk culture.

Keith still didn’t seem to believe him, but that was fine, it was easy enough to make up. There was one thing he held off on, the final piece. He got up and rushed off to the hiding spot in his room, where the papers were. He came back and dumped the pile on a confused Keith’s lap, who flicked through the pages without a word. Lance watched him nervously.

“That’s… yeah. That’s what I’ve been working on,” Lance admitted, fiddling with the top of his pants. “It’s hard work, not gonna lie, but it’s totally worth it. I’ve been able to talk to Hunk, and don’t get me wrong, there’s still the language barrier. But it works. We’re making it work.” Whatever _it_ was, of course.

Keith looked up at him over the papers. “Lance. Are you in love with him?”

Lance laughed, trying to pathetically reject the notion, but Keith could see right through him. Even if he tried to lie, Keith would give him that look, and he would immediately back down. Lance couldn’t believe how bad it had gotten in such a short amount of time. He really was hopeless.

“I don’t know what to do about this anymore. It was a bad idea to get involved in the first place, I know, but I just…” He sighed. “I’m in too deep.”

“What are you talking about?” Keith handed him the stack of papers. “You know what you want to do.”

“Sure, in a perfect world, I’d live down there, but I can’t.” Could he? No, Lance couldn’t live underwater.

Lance believed in a lot of silly things, but strangely enough, magic was where he drew the line. He wondered if Keith secretly believed in it all, but was too afraid to admit it. No, this was Keith, after all. Then again, he wasn’t the type to joke about things that were this important to Lance.

“All I’m saying is, where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Keith shrugged.

“And you’ve been believing in magic since…?” Lance snorted.

Keith picked his cup back up. “I don’t. But if you believe in mermaids, then maybe you can find a way to be in the sea.”

Lance sipped his tea again. This was stupid, even for Lance’s tastes, it was stupid. Then again, to Keith, merfolk seemed stupid. He tapped the side of his cup in thought - where would he even begin to look? That was when he remembered the library, and grinned to himself. _Nice._

\--

Lance soon learned that, just because there was a legend behind it, it didn’t mean it was real. He had a long list of fairytales and myths he had slogged through, and most of them were complete bullshit. There were no forest fairies to grant wishes in exchange for solving riddles, or sea nymphs to grant him the ability to breathe underwater.

He did learn, however, that some tales were not written down. They were passed from sailor to sailor, at the bars and the docks. Lance heard some interesting tales of merfolk, but he didn’t come to the bar to hear more about them. However, he did hear a rumour of a young man, must have been around Lance’s age. He had been spotted hanging around with a merman, spending far too much time with them.

Lance shifted nervously; he hoped that wasn’t about them.

He sat next to an old sailor, crusted with the salt of a thousand trips. His voice croaked as he told Lance about an old witch, who lived isolated in some cave. Though she had not been seen in a century, she likely still lived there. One could strike a deal with her; she would grant a person a favour, so long as they were prepared to give up everything in return.

Lance was nervous about the word ‘everything’. He didn’t know just how much that encompassed; would he even have what the witch wanted? Lance would have given up everything for Hunk, of course he would, but he wasn’t sure if it was good enough. The only way to know for sure was by asking her himself, but he was too much of a coward.

He had no one else to talk about this with, knowing his siblings would just laugh in his face. There was only one person left, someone who slightly believed him. This time, he invited Keith over, without any pretences of tea. Still, he did make Keith tea, opting for just water for himself. He tapped his glass, trying to formulate the words, but Keith watched him with a frown.

“Did you know we have, like, a town witch?” Lance laughed weakly. “Because I didn’t. I heard a rumour from the sailors at the bar - no one’s seen her for basically a hundred years. She’ll make any deal as long as the price is right.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Do you even know what she’ll ask for?”

“No,” Lance shook his head. “You go in there expecting to lose everything.”

“And are you prepared to lose everything?”

For some reason, it seemed far more ominous and terrifying when Keith said it. Lance chewed on his cheek. He knew the answer, but somehow, saying it out loud was far more terrifying. If he couldn’t even tell Keith, he stood no chance with the witch.

“I want this, more than anything. But what if my everything… _isn’t_ enough? What if she wants more, and I don’t have anything else to give?” Lance frowned, staring down at his lap.

“You don’t know that until you try,” Keith offered.

He was right, and Lance knew that. That didn’t make him any less scared of, well, _everything_. He sighed softly.

“If this is for real, I might never see you again, or any of my family. That's… man, that's crazy to me,” Lance said quietly, shaking his head. “And I'm weirdly okay with it. It's not like I'll be dead, I just… I'll just be living in the sea.”

Lance had no idea who he was justifying himself to anymore. It sounded like, to him, he already knew what he wanted. And when he looked at Keith, he knew, too. Lance wanted to be with Hunk, and if that did truly mean giving up everything, then so be it. It would have been worth it.

Keith grabbed his shoulder. “Relax. You’ve got this, Lance.”

Lance smiled, and nodded. Even though Keith was only telling him what he already knew, it was nice to be validated. He knew what he needed to do.

\--

Maybe Lance should have talked to Hunk about this, first and foremost. Hunk may not have wanted this, he may have been happy with their affair. Lance wasn’t always the smartest, however, and he truly believed this was the best course of action. He hoped this would end well for him, no matter what happened.

The witch’s home was a cave, a long walk away from town. It was in the middle of nowhere, supposedly hard to find. Some said the entrance was obscured, and would only open to those worthy. Lance snorted, rolling his eyes - even that seemed a little far fetched. His socks and shoes were filled to the brim with sand, and Lance hated every single step. Soon enough, he wouldn’t have that problem anymore.

After a long time of walking, Lance found a cavern, but it surely couldn’t have been this easy. It didn’t feel right to him, but he didn’t see anything else. If nothing else, if he thought something was wrong, he could walk back out. He bit his lips, groaning, before finally taking a step inside. The moment he did, a thick sheet of cold wrapped around him. He gasped, holding himself for warmth. Not good. He should have gone back out, but something told him to push on.

It was dark on the inside, and Lance couldn’t see past the end of his nose. As he proceeded further, strange red markings covered the wall. He brushed his hand against them, and they were strangely warm to touch. At least something here was warm. He pressed his cold hands against the markings for a moment, before proceeding further. So far, so good.

Lance came across a fork in the road. Normally, this would have been a sign to turn back; no one knew where he was, and he could die in here. He should have gone back, but something told him to push on. It was too late for regrets, now. He sucked in his breath, taking the passage on his left, praying it was the right one.

A stiff breeze blew through, and Lance held himself tighter, shivering. Did the witch enjoy freezing herself to death, or something? He hissed, but he kept going. Maybe this was all a test, where only the strongest would be granted audience with the witch. Perhaps his time and patience would be all he had to give up. Wishful thinking, he knew that.

There were so many forks in the road, and Lance didn’t know which ones to take. This was a mistake, but he couldn’t stop now. Something crunched underfoot, and he did not dare look down. He didn’t even want to think what it was. Screw this. He started running, no longer thinking about which passages to go through. It wasn’t smart, but being here in the first place was not smart.

He saw a light, and sighed in relief, slowing down his run. This had to be it, if not, then Lance was going to die in this cave. He swallowed hard, before turning a corner, and he smiled. The light came from torches burning on the walls of a room, but when Lance approached, the flames did not feel warm. Vials sat on shelves, filled with some kind of shimmery substance. Lance grabbed one of the vials and shook it gently, and it did not move like a liquid did; it bobbed up and down slowly. Odd.

There were tools strewn on a table, and Lance reached out to touch, before realising that was a bad idea. He pulled a face, moving his attention to the books on the shelves. He picked one of them up, flicking through them. He had no idea what they said, but the diagrams did not instill confidence in him. He swallowed hard, putting the book back where it came from. He could go now, before something went wrong.

He was too late.

An invisible force wrapped around his throat, crushing it before slamming him against a wall. The shock sent vials around him crashing to the floor, crashing and clattering on the floor. He tried to grip whatever was choking him, but he couldn’t touch it. He kicked the air, struggling, eyes darting around the room for his attacker.

He spotted an elderly woman, hunched over, hood over her head. Her fingers were claws, extending her hand to him. The force loosened when he spotted her, and he took a deep, rasping breath while he still could. She approached him slowly, glaring up at him, her yellow eyes glimmering under her hood. Lance’s blood ran cold.

“You should not be here,” she growled. “Speak, boy. What do you seek?”

Lance had a whole speech planned in his head; it would have surely convinced her if he could have gotten the words out. He stammered, the words stuck on his tongue, looking at anything but the witch. The grip on his throat tightened, and he choked, the grip only relenting when he looked back at her. He gulped hard, though it was nearly impossible to swallow.

“I--” he wheezed, “I’ve heard things. You’re a witch, and, in exchange for something, you’ll do what I want.”

The witch scoffed. “I do not do what _you_ want.”

At least now, she was gracious enough to release Lance. He landed to the floor with a thud, holding his throat. He looked up at the witch, and her yellow eyes pierced through his being. Lance just wanted to run away.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “What I meant is, in exchange for whatever you want, you might do as I ask.”

“That’s better. What do you seek?” she asked.

What Lance sought right now, more than anything, was escape. But he came here for a reason, and nothing was going to stop him now. Not even the witch, who could clearly kill him without a second thought. He took a moment to steady his breath; he did not want to anger her again.

“Um-- all I want is to be able to live among the merfolk. There’s a merman, and…” He wasn’t about to spill his heart out to a stranger like this. He hung his head. “Please. I want to be with him.”

She looked at him in utter disgust. “What you are asking for comes with a high price, child.”

Lance didn’t know what the witch could possibly want from him, even still. He looked around the room, hoping to find a clue - she didn’t seem to deal in dismembered body parts, or organs. A relief, but it just made him wonder what she _did_ deal in.

“Can… can I ask what you’re asking of me?” Lance asked.

“Your life,” she stated plainly. Lance’s heart stopped. “I will take twenty years of your life, and in exchange, I will grant you your wish.”

While that sounded less sinister than killing him, it was still twenty years. He didn’t know how many years he had left; he estimated around forty. But if he, for some reason, changed his mind now, he wasn’t sure he would survive past this point. He didn’t want to change his mind - he had never been so sure of anything in his life.

Lance was terrified beyond belief, but in that moment, he knew for sure where his heart lay.

“No matter what it takes, I want to do this. Please, if you can do it…” Lance held out his arms. “Take whatever you want.”

“Do not make offers like that, child. You never know who may take that offer a little too literally,” she hissed.

The witch turned away from Lance, and he could relax for a brief moment. She reached for an empty vial, one that was not broken, and she approached him. It suddenly hit him what those vials were for. His breath caught in his throat. She held his face in her hands, claws digging into his cheek, and Lance could not look away.

“This will hurt. Extracting your life and changing your biology comes at a high price, child, and you may not survive.” She scoffed. “It is unfortunate you no longer have a choice.”

Lance was glad he couldn’t remember the pain. The world around him faded, and as he slipped under, he wondered if this was what it felt like to die.

\--

He woke up eventually, his head feeling like it had hit concrete. He rubbed his face, groaning, as he opened his eyes. Wait, he didn’t recognise this place. This wasn’t home, or the witch’s home; Lance was underwater.

He panicked and held his breath, trying to kick up to the surface. It looked a ways up, but he could do it if-- His legs refused to move. Lance looked down at his legs, and he covered his mouth with his hands. That was new. His legs had been replaced with a tail, the blue scales shimmering even in the low light. He ran his hand down the scales, awe and horror all fusing into one.

He wasn’t dead, the witch hadn’t killed him. She had granted Lance’s wish.

While he could swim with legs, it was far harder to swim with a tail. It didn’t work like legs, far smoother and more fluid than his legs. All he did was manage to make himself float upside down. He groaned, rubbing his face. Summary of his life, really.

“ _What… what are you doing?_ ” a familiar voice asked, exasperated.

Lance yelped, fighting to get upright, but to no avail. He gave up, opting to float there. Hunk put his hands on Lance’s waist, turning him over and making Lance face him. He smiled sheepishly at Hunk, who blinked blankly at him. He didn’t release Lance.

“ _Lance?_ ” he asked.

“ _The one and only,_ ” Lance hummed.

Hunk looked at him, wide-eyed, grabbing his face. He inspected every part of his face, running his eyes down his body, then looking back up into his eyes. Hunk pulled him in for a tight hug, and Lance relaxed, holding him.

“ _What happened to you?_ ” Hunk asked, and Lance swallowed hard. “ _... actually, it doesn’t matter right now, you can tell me later._ ” He pulled away, holding Lance’s face in one hand. “ _Is… is this permanent? Or-- how long do you have?_ ”

Lance wanted to laugh. He didn’t know how long he had left, but he didn’t need to tell Hunk that. Not yet. “ _As long as you want with me._ ”

Hunk smiled, relieved, and Lance knew then he had made the right choice. Lance draped his arms around Hunk’s neck, and finally, he pulled him in for a soft, warm kiss. He felt the fins at the tip of his ears twitch in excitement, and he grinned. Everything he had been through was worth it for this.


End file.
